Ep. 38 - Orgasm During Childbirth: Baby's Coming & So Is Mom

[00:00] Introduction: Childbirth, Trauma and the Role of a Doula

Dr. Bawa: Welcome back to the Dr. Sex Fairy Podcast. I am Dr. Kanwal Bawa, and I am here to transform your life. Childbirth can be both a beautiful and a traumatic experience for women, and usually simultaneously. It takes a village to help a woman navigate this journey in the most pleasant way, with the most support, and with the least amount of physical and emotional trauma. A doula can be a great adjunct for the expectant and the postpartum mother. Today I have in the studio Ruth Kraft, who has been a doula and a parenting consultant for more than 20 years. She trains professionals as well through her business, Honoring Women, and has started a nonprofit called Community Calling to help support both professionals and parents that are most in need. Welcome, Ruth. Thank you for being on the podcast.

Ruth Kraft: Thank you for having me.

[00:46] What Is a Doula?

Dr. Bawa: So let's start with the basics. What is a doula?

Ruth Kraft: Doulas are physical, emotional, and informational support for the pregnant, birthing, and new parents. We are there to help them, guide them, give them information to make the best decisions for them and their family as they go through it. Maybe start with some comfort measures as they're going through it, and really empower them to help them understand what questions they can ask and what their rights are in going through our very challenging system.

Dr. Bawa: It is challenging. As somebody who's part of conventional medicine, I understand it's challenging. But again, you know, it's one of those things where the doctors really want the best for the mother as well. So sometimes there's a bit of a clash because you're both coming at it, you're both on the same team, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

Ruth Kraft: It's true, and I think a lot of that comes down to communication. A lot of times the parents don't really understand how to actually effectively communicate with their care providers or even ask what they want. They don't know what questions to even ask to be able to get what they want. So a lot of times they go into it and they say, 'Well, I really just want to have, you know, a good birth experience and a live, healthy baby at the end of it,' but they really don't have any idea what that looks like for them specifically. So they just kind of give over the entire experience to whoever is going to make the decisions for them, and then they end up with a traumatic experience, and then they have the trauma and they say, 'Well, how come no one told me this?'

[02:20] Teaching Parents to Advocate for Themselves

Dr. Bawa: And here you can advocate for them.

Ruth Kraft: In a way. So part of what we do is really we teach them that they can advocate for themselves, because we don't really have the right to say yes or no to something or give them medical advice because we're not medical professionals. But we can say, you know, you have a right to say, 'If everything is okay with me and the baby, I'd like to be able to get up and move around during my labor. I don't want to lay down the entire time. I'd prefer not to have any medication if I can, if that's possible.' Or, 'I'd rather let my baby come on its own instead of doing an induction that's not medically needed,' and helping them find the words and the voice to be able to do that. A lot of times they just don't even know what their options are, or that they even have a right to say yes or no, and they absolutely do.

Dr. Bawa: That's a great, great thing you do for so many people. Now explain to our listeners, if you don't mind, the difference between a doula and a midwife.

[03:23] Doula vs. Midwife

Ruth Kraft: So there's a little bit of overlap for the emotional aspect of that, and even sometimes comfort measures and such, and going through the process of labor. The main difference is that midwives really are focused on the medical side of things. They're there to take blood pressures, make sure the baby's doing okay, watch for any signs of anything that's high risk, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, anything that would put the mom or the baby in danger, do all the charting, make sure that, you know, heart tones are doing good, baby's doing good, mom's doing good, that kind of stuff. And they can give medical advice and diagnose issues that might be arising, et cetera. Doulas don't do any of that. It's specifically the physical, informational, and emotional support without any medical advice at all.

Dr. Bawa: What are the different types of doulas?

[04:09] Labor, Postpartum, Antepartum and Bereavement Doulas

Ruth Kraft: So there are quite a few different kinds of doulas. The two most popular ones that are most mainstream are labor doulas and postpartum doulas. Labor doulas really help moms a little bit prenatally. We meet with our clients a couple times to figure out what kind of birth experience they want to have, help them work through any fears or questions they might have along the way, know what questions they can ask. Sometimes we're there to help them figure out, like, how to deal with their mother-in-law in labor. You know, like, we kind of come up with a game plan if they don't necessarily get along, but they know that she's going to be there kind of thing. So we work through any of that kind of stuff. We go and attend the actual labor with them and then stay there till after the baby's born. And usually we do like one postpartum visit.

Ruth Kraft: A postpartum doula is completely different. For that one, we usually go into the home for several hours a week, several days a week, and help mom in any way, or the entire family, in any way that they need that is also non-medical, right? Helping moms with breastfeeding, helping dad to understand how he can be helpful, or partner or whoever else is there for support, and helping mom really understand, or the family in general really understand, how to become the kind of parents that they want to be. And again, what all the options are, because there's so many things that a lot of people just don't even realize with baby wearing and 30 different kinds of slings that they can use to, you know, bottle feeding and different bottles and different ways that, you know, people sleep with their babies, or like cribs versus bassinets versus co-sleepers. Like, there's so many different options, so we go in and help with that.

Ruth Kraft: There's also antepartum doulas, which aren't used nearly as much to help usually moms who are high risk at home on bed rest, you know, that kind of thing, help with little things around the house, help them understand what's going on. And there's even something now called a death doula, or bereavement doula, for moms who we know have lost babies. And they can go and get support through that, through miscarriages, through fetal loss, just in general.

[06:15] Why New Parents Need More Hands and More Support

Dr. Bawa: That's incredible. I wish I'd had a doula when I had my twin boys. I mean, I was a medical doctor at this point, but I'm telling you, just the process of becoming a mother myself, going from zero to two babies overnight. I mean, and then coming home and not really having any paid help. That was not an easy situation. I wanted a nanny, not as an elitist thing, but because, you know, you have two babies crying and needing diapers changed at the same time. You need a set of hands.

Ruth Kraft: Well, it takes two parents, typically, to handle one child. And even in that, most people are very overwhelmed. So you have one, then you go on to two or more, right? You go into two babies, and you still only have two parents. So even if you have one doula, you're still, like, some help short. Having done this for 20 years, if I had had another child, I would have had a doula myself. Just even though, you know, you were a medical doctor going through it, and even if you were an OB and you're thinking, well, I already know this stuff, it's so different when you're the one experiencing it.

Dr. Bawa: It's totally different. And, you know, you're a patient like anybody else. I got very sick, and I was very vulnerable, you know, and I don't think I had the support I needed. So knowing what I know now, 100%, I would have gotten you on board. One hundred percent. So what a service you do. You know, what a wonderful thing you do for the women and men around the world, parents in general.

Ruth Kraft: Yeah. And the babies. And the grandparents.

Dr. Bawa: Absolutely.

Ruth Kraft: I have grandparents who have come up to me just crying, going, 'I can't believe it. We never would have done it without you. You've helped me through this so much,' you know? Because even, and it's hard as a grandmother watching your daughter, you know, in labor and going through all that pain and not knowing, like, you know, knowing that you can't do anything really to help her except be there. It's very hard as a mother to not try to fix something that you can't fix. So giving even emotional support to extended family is a big deal.

[08:20] Home Birth vs. Hospital Birth

Dr. Bawa: Now, what does the birthing process look like at home versus in the hospital? And how does the dynamic of a couple change, given the location? Does it change much?

Ruth Kraft: I don't think the dynamic of the couple changes much. Usually both of them are on board, you know, to where it is that they've decided to give birth. Usually if someone is, if they're very close and well connected, and the partner is very helpful and kind and compassionate and empathetic, then that usually kind of flows over regardless of where it is that they're delivering. Choices are different. The feeling is completely different.

Ruth Kraft: For most people delivering at home, you know, even the prenatals with the midwives are very different. They're usually, you know, 30, 40 minutes long. The midwife gets into everything. How are you feeling? How did the visit with your mother go? You know, how is your diet going? What have you been eating? How are you feeling about the birth experience overall? What can we do to be supportive and helpful to you along the way? Then typically when you do an OB appointment for a prenatal, it's, you know, five minutes, maybe max, you know, because, and a lot of moms feel like they're just a number, especially if they're in a really large group practice because the doctors don't know who they are every time. They have to go through the same things. Sometimes that's necessary. It's because of whatever's going on with mom.

Ruth Kraft: And so the hospital can be the same way. I mean, it's, you know, there's a lot of medical equipment around. There's, you know, everything is cold white sheets. You know, a lot of the places, it's like some of the hospitals now are kind of going, well, you know, let's put a sofa that kind of looks like a sofa you'd see in a living room somewhere, or we're going to put paintings on the wall or something like that, and to try to kind of dull that medical cold feeling.

Dr. Bawa: That sterility.

[09:55] Pain Relief and When Hospital Care Is Needed

Ruth Kraft: Yeah. Trying to dull that down some. And for some people that works and some people it doesn't. It's really more of a preference in where someone decides, like where they'd feel more comfortable. When delivering at home, you really don't have the option of getting an epidural or any, like, strong painkillers or anything like that. Some of the birth centers around will have nitrous oxide. It's about the strongest pain medication you're going to be able to get when you're in an out-of-hospital birth situation. Whereas if you are in a hospital, you can, of course, have an epidural. You can have IV narcotics, you know, whatever your choices are in that way. And of course, cesareans. Cesareans can only be done in hospitals. They cannot be done at home. So home births are only for very low-risk moms. If a mom has any kind of high-risk factors, then if she has them ahead of time, she won't even be able to opt in for a home birth. But if she develops them over time, she would then be transferred to hospital care.

[11:08] Sex, Pregnancy and Changes in Libido

Dr. Bawa: Now, childbirth and pregnancy complicate both sex before and after the baby's born.

Ruth Kraft: It certainly can.

Dr. Bawa: How do you support a mother through that?

Ruth Kraft: Typically, I try to help them understand what's going on with themselves hormonally. Sometimes it's the mom who is just like, 'I don't want any sex at all. I don't want to have anything to do with it. I don't want anyone touching me.' Sometimes it's the partner. The mom might want it, but the partner is going, 'Ah, you know, not so much. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt the baby. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt the mom,' you know, that kind of stuff. So a lot of times it's really education and helping them understand.

Ruth Kraft: You'd be surprised how many men have absolutely no idea about, like, actual female anatomy. They have no idea. I've had some dads who, they're concerned that, you know, having sex is what gives babies dimples, or it's going to cause some kind of damage to mom, or the baby's going to reach down and grab them while they're going at it. And I'm like, wild imaginations. But the anxiety is real, right? Like, they're really, they're just like, 'I can't do this.' Sometimes it's that whole, you know, the baby's coming out of there, so I can't, you know, do anything at all, because they're really just, the sexual confusion can be challenging.

[12:24] Anatomy, Anxiety and Using Humor to Break the Ice

Ruth Kraft: So first, a lot of it is really just giving them information and helping them understand the educational part of it, but then also helping them feel comfortable talking about it. And so when I talk about it and I make, like, jokes about it, or I make it easy to be able to have the conversation, then a lot of times they'll kind of open up and start talking and go, 'Well, you know,' like that's how I find, that's how you get a man who says to you, you know, 'I'm afraid that the baby's going to reach down and grab it.' And I'm like, 'Okay, well, let's talk about anatomy, because that's an actual physical impossibility,' and let's go from there. And when you just talk about it as though it's no big deal, because it's not a big deal, then they relax, and then they continue to ask more questions.

Dr. Bawa: So basically humor helps you break the ice and explain to them some of the more science-based elements of what's going on.

Ruth Kraft: Yeah, for me it does. I mean, that's, I use humor and just to kind of make people feel more comfortable about it. I mean, even I had a client one time who, she was getting close to the end. She wanted to be able to induce or kind of get things going, and sex is one of the best ways to kind of get things moving along, especially if your labor is kind of started but you want to kind of push it over the edge a little bit and kind of get contractions more strong.

[13:50] Sex and Orgasm to Encourage Labor

Ruth Kraft: So I was like, you know, you can have sex with your partner. It's great. The oxytocin is great. Oxytocin is one of the best hormones that's going to get everything going. The semen works great as a prostaglandin to help kind of soften the cervix and get it ready. And she's like, 'Oh, my partner is not even, like, there's no way he's ever even going to, you know, do it.' And so I was like, 'Well, then I guess you get to do it by yourself.' And she's like, 'Well, what do you mean?' I was like, 'Well, I mean, you have a hand, and you can also go out and just get a toy.' And she started laughing so hard, and I was like, I wasn't, like, I wasn't kidding. Like, you can really do that. And she goes, I said, 'What's so funny?' And she goes, 'Well, you just make it sound so normal.' And I was like, 'Well, it is.'

Ruth Kraft: It can be. Yeah, it should be. Like, it's really, we just kind of have to get over our belief systems or whatever bias we have about what that means or, you know, 'I can't do that.' I mean, you can, and it's actually good for you if you do. So, you know, when you do that, I mean, humor works best for me in really helping people.

Dr. Bawa: Yeah, shame and stigma are a big issue. Big issue with masturbation, and of course, the idea of late pregnancy sex really, really freaks a lot of men out.

[15:12] Late-Pregnancy Sex Positions and Comfort

Ruth Kraft: Yeah, absolutely. And it can be challenging too, because depending on the kind of relationship they have, they may have to change up positions, right? Mom, you know, is when she's nine months pregnant, her center of gravity is different. She can't maybe do the same positions that they were—if they're only used to missionary, that's unlikely going to be the same. So they might have to try different things. And so really trying to get them to think outside of the box and do different positions, because that's really only going to work if mom is comfortable. She has to be comfortable enough to be able to relax to orgasm to begin with. Otherwise, it's not going to work. So it can kind of push the envelope a little bit on what their comfort level is to be able to relax enough to enjoy. And who doesn't want to go into labor after having an orgasm? Like, that's—I mean, that's the best thing ever, right?

Dr. Bawa: Right. It's like, it's better than morphine. So, like, have at it. I don't understand. Like, in my head, I'm like, I don't understand why people don't want to do that more. I don't understand what the fuss is about, honestly. It makes no sense, because an orgasm right before childbirth makes complete sense.

Ruth Kraft: A hundred percent. Biologically, chemically, just, it's a no-brainer.

Dr. Bawa: Yeah, yeah. The same hormones that got the baby in there are the same hormones that are going to get the baby out.

Ruth Kraft: How about that? I like that.

[16:36] Birthgasms: Orgasm During Childbirth

Dr. Bawa: So let's talk about another controversial issue, and that is birthgasms. Orgasms while giving birth—they're a thing. I've talked about them on the podcast before.

Ruth Kraft: Yes, they are.

Dr. Bawa: Have you seen any?

Ruth Kraft: I have. I have. Not in a hospital setting, but usually in a home birth or a birth center setting, where it's far more relaxed. They don't, like, you know, there's no big bright lights on. They really can just kind of be in their own little, what I call labor land, you know, in their own little birthing world. They feel just so supported by the people who are around them, relaxed enough that they feel like they can do anything they want. I've had some clients who actually will, like on their own, use their own hands. I've had partners who've, like, tried to, whether it's through nipple stimulation or clitoral stimulation, to kind of get things going that way. A lot of times I'll encourage my clients to do it, and then I leave the room, and then I don't ask them, like, 'So, did you do it?' You know, I just say, you know, here are some suggestions of different things that you can try. You know, it's great for a natural painkiller. It's great for the hormonal push that you want to have to kind of get things going. So I'm gonna go down to Starbucks for a couple hours and check on my kids or, you know, read my email or whatever, and you guys have at it.

[17:58] Spontaneous Birth Orgasms and Hypnobirthing

Dr. Bawa: And what about spontaneous ones?

Ruth Kraft: I've seen those too. Not as many, but I have. If a woman gets relaxed enough, I've seen a couple women. I also teach a class called hypnobirthing, where it helps women just relax, and I teach just relaxation in general. And when a woman gets relaxed enough and she can kind of get into the right headspace, every now and again it will just happen all on its own. It's not—it wouldn't be nearly as uncommon as it is if people had the ability to just accept that in general. But a lot of times women, I think we spend so much time focusing on if it's hard and you get through it, then you get more attention, right? Like there are certain cultures where the more you yell, scream, have so much pain, the bigger push gift you get. You know, the more drama that is surrounded by the whole thing, the more attention you get. So we don't really focus a whole lot on having a pleasurable birth experience. So, and there's a bias and the stigma, of course, around that too. But if they're really looking to just be taken care of, then orgasm is not even on their radar. They're just wanting the people around them to help them feel safe. It's like a basic need that's not met.

[19:11] Pleasure, Shame and Asking for More

Dr. Bawa: It's a really tricky topic because it's so embarrassing to so many people. I agree. That I think even if they're starting to feel that pleasure, I think they just stop themselves.

Ruth Kraft: Yes. Not even in birth. I think that's just a thing women do in general. We do deny ourselves pleasure so many times, so many times. I was even, just random stuff, I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday, and she says, 'I feel selfish for asking for something more than, you know, what we had already had planned.' And I said, 'Why? Why?' And it wasn't even a sexual thing. And she's like, 'Well, because I shouldn't even be asking for more than just the basics.' And I was like, 'Why? Why not?' It's half the time, that's why we're so freaking miserable, because we're just accepting whatever is handed to us instead of really relaxing and letting go and being able to accept the fact that we deserve pleasure just as much as anyone else.

Dr. Bawa: And support.

Ruth Kraft: And support.

[20:07] Preparing for Birth Before Labor Starts

Dr. Bawa: And for instance, when childbirth's happening, it's traumatic in so many ways. Like I mentioned, it's physically tearing you apart, and emotionally, you're a wreck. How do you actually support the women through childbirth? You talked about how you help them be more educated about their rights and what their options are, but how does the actual process go?

Ruth Kraft: A lot of the work is done prenatally. You know, really creating a rapport, creating a bond with the person who you've chosen to be your doula, sitting and having conversations, again, about what's going on in your life. You know, and it could be anything. It could be dealing with, you know, I had a client who had lost her father, and the overwhelm of him not being able to see his grandchild and have a relationship and that kind of stuff was really hard for her because she was very close to him. So really working through a lot of the fears that she had going through, or any woman in general and partners too, any fears that they have, any questions that they have, and again, building it ahead of time. The more fear you can deal with ahead of time, the less likely it's going to come out in labor. And when you, again, the more they're really willing and able to deal with that, labor tends to go so much easier because they don't fight their body. They trust that you're there.

[21:24] Choosing a Support Team That Truly Supports You

Ruth Kraft: A lot of times we go through, you know, creating a good, I call it creating a good support team, you know, and that's not just your doctor. It's anyone who's going to be surrounding you in that birth experience. You're going to have your friend come, you know, but if your friend, if you're planning on going and having an epidural and your friend had a home birth and she keeps saying to you, 'Oh goodness, you know, why would you even do that? Like my home birth was so great. It was in my backyard and it was relaxing and the birds were chirping and like it was Cinderella land,' you know, and she's constantly making you feel badly because you're choosing something different than she did. That's not really good support because the person who then is, you know, now you're going to have someone who's there who's constantly telling you that you're doing everything wrong instead of saying, 'I understand that you want to do things differently and I want to support you the best way that I can. I want you to know that it's an option to be able to have a home birth in, you know, in a safe way and assuming you're low risk, and I want you to know what those options are. But if you choose not to do that, then that's okay too.' So building a support team ahead of time and really helping them understand what support means to them is imperative in having a good birth experience.

Dr. Bawa: So it appears that doulas provide women a safe place where they can feel accepted exactly as they are.

Ruth Kraft: That's right. If the doula is doing her job how she's supposed to, then that's exactly what we're supposed to do.

Dr. Bawa: Where the hell were you in 2010 when I had my boys?

Ruth Kraft: I was still doing this work, but unfortunately we hadn't connected.

Dr. Bawa: I know. I mean, I look back and I just shake my head because I think of how much better things could have been.

Ruth Kraft: Yeah. And again, I get that really frequently from people, like, 'Where were you when I had my kids?' And it's hard because there's so many ways to raise children, to birth children, to, in parenting in general, there's so many different options that you have. And there's also so many people with opinions who keep telling you all of the things that you're doing wrong, that you shouldn't be doing, because that's not how they did it, you know?

[23:10] Empowerment, Shame and Parenting Choices

Ruth Kraft: And again, going back to the shame, how much shame there is, generational shame. You know, your mom didn't breastfeed, so she says, 'Well, you know, I didn't breastfeed my kids and they turned out okay. You know, I don't understand why it's such a big deal that you do that.' And it's a lot for women to have to deal with going through that. And so when you help them understand that the issues that other people have are their issues to work through, and that for them to be able to say, 'I understand that you don't agree or that you chose to do something differently, and I'm still going to do something that I know is best for me or me and my baby,' the empowerment that comes from that changes not only their birth experience, but their life and even how they raise their children. Because once you teach empowerment to a parent, they then continue to teach that to their children. We change generations.

Ruth Kraft: Everything, like dealing with so much of this stuff at birth and helping moms deal with any of their past trauma, if they can go through that and then go through their birth experience and go, 'Oh my gosh, I did it,' whether it was a vaginal birth, whether it was three hours, 24 hours, a C-section, you know, got their epidural, whatever, that empowerment will have a ripple effect on everyone around them.

[24:57] Why Doulas Matter With C-Sections Too

Dr. Bawa: And that's another thing that I want to point out, is that a doula is just as helpful, in fact more helpful to a mother in some ways when she's had a C-section. It's not that if you're going surgical, you can't have a doula.

Ruth Kraft: That's correct. For anything. There was a lot of the way that people looked socially at doulas, like mainstream was, 'Oh, we're just like these hippie people who show up in Birkenstocks and long skirts and incense, and all we're there to do is rub your back while you have this unmedicated labor.' And that's really not the case. We really are there to help support you in whatever decisions that you want to make, whether you get an epidural, whether you do a C-section. I actually will typically say the people who end up with medicated labors or very high-interventive labors, including C-sections, of course, really actually need a doula more because there's a disconnect from their body. Once you get medication like an epidural, you don't have that feeling. You're not really connected physically the way that you were without the medication to your baby. And so that disconnect creates issues on top of the fact that from a medical standpoint, there's so many things that can go wrong that it can create more trauma. And so helping moms understand how the whole process works and what goes on from there is extremely helpful.

[26:12] Breastfeeding Support After Delivery

Dr. Bawa: How do you help a mother with breastfeeding?

Ruth Kraft: When I'm there as a labor doula, I'm always watching initial latch, you know, that first hour, that golden hour after a baby is born, watching to see how the baby does, helping mom understand, watching the baby's instincts, because babies know. Babies are mammals. Human babies are mammals, just like any other mammal. So, like, we don't have—when our dog has babies, we don't go over to it and go, 'Here, you know, let me wash the baby off first,' and then, you know, do all these things, and then make the dog, like, sit up and, you know, nurse the baby. You know, it just figures it out. So human babies actually can do the same thing. You can lay a baby on a mom's abdomen in an unmedicated birth, and within an hour the baby's going to literally crawl up and latch on and nurse, all on instinct alone, and latch on to the breast and go at it. So I help moms understand what those cues are so that they can really see that in action. And then we watch, you know, every single day how the baby's doing, how many wet and dirty diapers the baby's having, you know, making sure that there's a really good transfer of milk so we know the baby's actually getting milk, and making sure mom doesn't have any pain. And if any of that shows up, then we address it as soon as we possibly can. The sooner we can address it, the easier it's going to be to get over so that they can go on to have a good breastfeeding relationship.

[27:41] Honoring Women and Closing

Dr. Bawa: How great is that? It changes people's lives. I'll bet it does. And again, brings me back for the 25th time, I'm going to say this: where the hell were you in 2010? You know, this has been such a great conversation. I'm so glad you came, because I talk about sex and sexuality and sexual wellness and intimate wellness, but most people don't think of doula care as part of that, and I do believe it is. And I think this was an important conversation to have, to make people aware that you exist, that you have a pivotal role in childbirth, that more people should be using a doula, and that we should think of childbirth in, you know, a little differently than we have thus far. It's not just, 'Oh, my water breaks and you run to the hospital and deliver a baby.' There's got to be a little more mindfulness about it, and that's what you bring to it, and so much support. So it's great. Now, I'm sure many, many people are thinking about hiring you for their birth. So how can people find you?

Ruth Kraft: My website is honoringwomen.com. I'm certainly on that. There's a way to be able to email me through that as well. On Facebook, I'm Doula Ruth Kraft. So doula is D-O-U-L-A. Or you can email me at ruth@honoringwomen.com.

Dr. Bawa: Such a great website, honoringwomen.com. You know, I'll bet somebody wants to pay you a lot of money for that right now. You should think about that. Great website. Great, great, great website. So again, like I said, great conversation. And I'd like to end with some statistics from AmericanPregnancy.org. Women who have a doula birth experience report having a much more positive childbirth experience. Studies have even shown that having a doula as a member of the birth team decreases the overall C-section rate by 50%. Boggles my mind. The length of labor goes down by about 25%. The use of oxytocin by 40%, and the request for epidurals by 60%. I am all for medicine when medicine is required, but when support and mindfulness and a little bit of TLC can help a mother avoid chemicals, why not? When it can help support a mother and make the family's experience so much more positive, why not? So I encourage you, my listeners, to think about things just a little differently, to consider doula care for your own needs, and to give yourselves a chance to have a more peaceful experience with childbirth and after. Until next time.